Who Controls The Eight Immortals In This Continual Maze…

A few posts ago, I re-introduced The Horsemen to you, my Sci-Fi Soldiers. Now, let’s meet their opposite number, The Deitis…

“So, for untold millennia, the Orisha became divine. Some of them did not want to be worshipped so they cast aside their physical form and returned to a state of energy. Others, however, decided to keep their physical forms and interact with Man … sometimes with intentions that were far from beneficial.

This new offshoot of the Orisha called themselves the Deitis, created a spiritual engine called the Elysium that collected the energy derived from the essence of worship. This energy had become the foodstuff by which the Deitis needed in order to survive. Without it, the Deitis would perish. The Deitis began to create realms of power. These realms had been placed all over the planet from Olympus to Valhalla, Neopolis to the Happy Hunting Grounds, Nirvana to Heaven. The Deitis began to grow cold and cruel, and they began to torment man.

The Orisha saw this and knew that Man had to be protected. So seven of the Orisha possessed human form and created a realm of their own known as Akebulan, the blessed land, and waged war with the Deitis. The war was hard fought and the Earth wept as her body was ravaged. Man almost perished due to flood and the rending of the land. But, in the end, the Deitis were cast out, at a heavy cost. The Orisha were severely weakened by the war and left the planet. Despite this, it seemed as if Humanity was free to chart its own destiny once more…

…But that was not to be.

Eight of the Deitis emerged from the ruins of the war. They were able to adapt to the petty desires of Humanity. They manipulated us, tempted us, and took us off of the path of enlightenment. Because of this, they were able to control us. They stopped us from reaching our true potential. We were supposed to be gods. They, the Deitis, denied us of our glory.”

Exodus, The God of Religion

Exodus, God of Religion

The minor god known as Exodus was able to hide himself from the Orisha’s wrath. Once the war was over, he emerged from his realm to see the earth scorched and ruined. He smiled. Smiled for he knew that this world was his. He would become the only god that man would ever know. He traveled from village to village, town to town, making himself and his power known to a chosen few. These men and women became his disciples and recorded the words and teachings of Exodus for future generations. Thus, Exodus had achieved his goal. He became the God of Religion.

Othello, The God of Commerce

Othello, God of Commerce

Othello, shrewd and crafty, hid among the mortals during the Great Conflict. He saw how the mortals coveted little shiny things, how they would fight each other, kill each other to possess something that they could carry with them when passed into the next life. Othello would own these things. Not only that, he would dictate to the mortals what new shiny thing they would have to own. He made them barter these shiny things for goods, for food, for their lives, for their enemies’ deaths. He would become the God of Commerce.

Ameratsu, The Goddess of War

Ameratsu, Goddess of War

To the east, Ameratsu emerged from a battle with her brother Susanowo, a battle that cost Susanowo his life. When he died, Ameratsu began to change. She who was the sun became dark. Before, she was peace and light. Now, she began to favor the arts of pain, violence, and war.

Ahura, The God of Industry

Ahura, God of Technology

The mighty Ahura, former all-father of all he surveyed, descended from the north humiliated. During the Great Conflict, Ogun the Dragonslayer dealt him a vicious blow. Faced with the option of retreat or certain death, the once proud warrior slunk off into the shadows with his tail between his legs. He would learn from his adversary though. As Ogun would be the God of Iron, Ahura would learn and become master of these new inventions that these little talking monkeys were so fond of. They would worship Ahura, not the hated Ogun, as the God of Technology.

Quetz, The God of Sex

Quetz, God of Lust

Quetz came from the south. Once a mighty warrior and ruler of a vast land, he had become a shell of his former self. He turned to the arts of physical pleasure, making its practice depraved and dirty. It had ceased to be an expression of love for Quetz. It had come to be just about sex.

Kali, The Goddess of Death

Kali. Goddess of Death

Kali stayed much the same as she was before the war. As she was the Goddess of Death, her role hadn’t changed that much (though she began to practice more exotic means of ending life). However, that which she dealt to man was denied to her. She wanted to know what death felt like and that began to drive her insane.

Amalek, The God of Politics (Amil Ratsgninrom)

Amalek, God of Politics

Amalek entered the light again defeated and broken. He was a mighty demon reduced to a shadow of his former self. Then, Exodus returned and Amalek found a new purpose in life. Every supreme deity needs a supreme adversary. But Amalek was still weak. He had no worshippers. He would need time to heal, to plan. So, he stayed in the shadows plotting, tempting others to think themselves better than they were. He became the kingmaker, but never the king for behind the throne is where the true power lies. Politics became his realm. And politics made Amalek very powerful indeed.

Asase, The Goddess of Life

Asase, Goddess of Life

Asase was different. The daughter of Olorun, The Lion took the earth and the preservation of life as her charge. She helped when she could, never revealing herself to mortals in order that they not worship her as they did her corrupted people. But man worshipped her nonetheless as the mother of the earth. No one, Deitis or mortal could ever hope to win her heart, however. It belongs to a brash Orisha with electric eyes and she waits for his return… After all, a father needs to know his children.